“Many have been the wise speeches of fools, though not so many as the foolish speeches of wise men.”

Thomas Fuller (1608-61) quoted as “Thought du jour” in Globe & Mail May 29, 2000

“Those who maintain that, provided he is good, a man is happy on the rack or surrounded by great disasters, is talking nonsense, whether intentionally or not.”

Aristotle, Ethics

“We are now getting to the point at which different beliefs about the universe lead to different behaviour. And it would seem, at first sight, very sensible to stop before we got there, and just carry on with those parts of morality that all sensible people agree about. But can we?”

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

“It takes the nerve of a robber’s horse, as a Newfoundlander might say…”

Maclean’s Nov. 9, 1998 [I did not record the author’s name]

“Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.”

W.C. Fields (I have encountered other variants but this one is the earliest I’ve seen)

“The most important causes, in every country alike, are to be found in general conditions rather than in particular events, though we must never underestimate the influence of individuals like Philip the Fair or Simon de Montfort.”

Bertie Wilkinson, The Creation of Mediaeval Parliaments

In my latest National Post column I say the “Gilets jaunes” in France have legitimate grievances. But unfortunately not legitimate solutions.